Dialup network speed indicator help request - Win XP

Factual Questions
1

I use a dialup connection with a external modem. The network icon in Win XP will show the speed as either the connection speed (currently 24.0 kb/s - which is great for here), or shows 124 kb/s (or close to that, but always the same number), which is the speed the modem connects with the computer.

It seems like it will be one or the other and I can’t figure out why. How can I get it to display only the modem connection speed? Why is this appearing random? And a side issue, it seems like I get a faster connection when it displays the connection speed, why is that?

Thanks

2

I believe that it displays the dial-up connection speed that was actually negotiated on the line. It might be that you have several phone numbers for your provider, and one of them is unable to negotiate something higher than 24kbps. As far as I know, XP has no facilities built-in for measuring the actual throughput so it always shows the connected-at speed.